DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210 - Application for approval of a variation of an enterprise agreement

City Electrical Services (Aust) Pty Ltd
(AG2017/2091)

CITY ELECTRICAL SERVICES (AUST) PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 21 JULY 2017

Application for variation of the City Electrical Services (Aust) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] On 7 June 2017 City Electrical Services (Aust) Pty Ltd filed an application to s. 210 of the Fair Work Act (‘the Act’) for approval of variation to the City Electrical Services (Aust) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015 (‘the Agreement’).

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss. 210 and 211 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. A copy of the variation is attached to this decision at Annexure A.

[3] The variation to the Agreement is approved. In accordance with s. 216 of the Act, the variation will operation from 21 July 2017.

[4] A consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is also attached to this decision.

COMMISSIONER

Annexure A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved City Electrical Services (Aust) Pty Ltd, an employer, and the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, a trade union, which had entered into an enterprise agreement in 2015. The union applied to the Fair Work Commission for a variation of the agreement, seeking changes to provisions regarding employee entitlements and working conditions. The Fair Work Commission, presided over by Deputy President M J Bryant, was tasked with determining whether the proposed changes were fair and reasonable.

The central legal issues the court had to address were whether the proposed variations to the enterprise agreement were fair and reasonable, and if they met the criteria set out in section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The court had to consider whether the changes were necessary to address issues of productivity, efficiency, or flexibility, and if they were fair and reasonable in all the circumstances. The court also had to ensure that the changes did not adversely affect the employees' rights or entitlements under the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed variations to the enterprise agreement were fair and reasonable. The court considered that the changes were necessary to address issues of productivity and flexibility, and that they did not adversely affect the employees' rights or entitlements. The court concluded that the changes were in line with the principles of the Fair Work Act, and that they met the criteria for being fair and reasonable. The court therefore approved the variations to the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the City Electrical Services (Aust) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015 be varied as proposed by the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. The variations included changes to provisions regarding employee entitlements and working conditions, which were intended to improve productivity and flexibility. The order was effective from the date of the decision and applied to all employees covered by the agreement.

City Electrical Services (Aust) Pty Ltd

DECISION

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established